The Balkans After the End of the Cold War

Author: Charalambos Papasotiriou
Date: 1994 - Athens
Publisher: Papazisis ISBN: 960-02-1054-3

The purpose of this volume is twofold:

a) to provide a comprehensive survey of the main political developments in the Balkans in the 1990s; and

b) to prescribe policy directions for the West as a whole, and for Greece particularly, for managing the transition of the formerly communist Balkan states to liberal democracy and the new European security architecture.

The volume begins with an account of the end of the Cold War and of the resulting new international system. The problems of the «new world order» are analyzed in depth with regard to the Yugoslav crisis, first in terms of Balkan Realpolitik and then in terms of the international community's engagement. It is shown that the Yugoslav disaster was almost inevitable in terms of Yugoslavia's internal politics, and that international policy has tended to destabilize further, rather than ameliorate, the unfolding drama.

The cases of Bulgaria and Albania, each treated in a separate chapter, bring forth in a comparative manner the problem of transition from communism to liberal democracy.

The volume proceeds with an analysis of Turkish foreign policy since 1990. The main conclusion is that Turkey has focused her efforts upon the southern periphery of the former Soviet Union, but with very limited success due to the resurgence in Russian assertiveness in the Caucasus. In the Balkans, Turkish policy has been driven mostly by the emotional impact of the destruction of the Bosnian Muslims, very limited success in their aid and comfort. Turkish influence in the rest of the Balkans is assessed as limited and circumstantial.

The final chapter deals with the role of Greece. On the basis of the Balkan distribution of resources, it is suggested that Greece is in a natural position to play a leading role in the transition of the Balkans towards mainstream European politics. The European Union and the United States are in principle prepared to back such a regional leadership role of Greece, provided that Greek disputes with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are resolved. The prescription for Greek policy in this volume is that Greece should settle disputes with her northern Balkan neighbors and focus on building up her role as the political and economic center of the Balkan peninsula.